Who was the first non-royal to appear on a British postage stamp?

The Shakespeare Festival set of 1964 broke new ground with its portrait of a commoner, and with its presentation pack, postmarks and aerogrammes.

The exact date on which William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon is unknown, but tradition says it was on St George’s Day, April 23, 1564. The Post Office’s long-standing refusal to countenance stamps in honour of famous people gave it a problem in 1964 when there was agitation for a special issue of stamps to mark the 400th anniversary. They found a way around its discomfort. It argued that its special issue was to celebrate an event of international importance (the annual Shakespeare Festival at Stratford), rather than the man himself. Nevertheless, this was a real break with previous policy, in that the four lower denominations featured the first portrait of a commoner to appear on British stamps. In the original version of the Droeshout portrait the poet faced left. On the stamps it was reversed so that he faced towards the centre, balancing the familiar Dorothy Wilding portrait of the Queen.